I heard the Lesser Pecker at Worsley in March last year,although Rob Adderley tried a couple of times later on without success,sure they will be around there somewhere.

In the spring of 2005 I had two sightings along the River Bollin - SJ7984 downstream from the M56 bridge towards the Golf Course - just inside the Manchester boundary ! No sign last summer but I've only ever seen them at Marbury about 3 times in 10 years - you need a nice still sunny day in early spring to catch them calling and drumming - otherwise it's a needle in the haystack job.

I've seen several at Rostherne, which is where my River Bollin one could have originated from, as it's only about 3km as the Woodpecker flies - on the Cheshire side of the river though

Please note - you need an English Nature permit to enter the Rostherne reserve proper - I was doing survey work for the Cheshire & Wirral Breeding Bird Atlas so was lucky enough to get restricted access. The general public can get a permit to enter the observatory there, and they can (very rarely) show up on the feeders there.

-- Edited by Tony Coatsworth at 22:33, 2007-02-04

The most reliable place to see lesser pecker the last few years has been Worsley Woods.Access is off A572 Worsley Road,go up Sefton Drive and approx. where the tarmac road ends and the unmettalled road starts there is a public footpath on the right into the woods.Anywhere from the entrance to a couple of 100 yds. past the black and white half timbered house usually produces the goods.Best time is from mid March to mid April(before 9am is best) when the birds are drumming and calling.If they are not drumming or calling then you haven't much chance of locating one,in fact you might as well look for a needle in a haystack!!
Pete Berry